It’s a couple of hours drive north for us, so an early start was necessary. We top up on petrol & breakfast supplies in Bangor supermarket before driving the last stint over on Anglesey. Take the turn in the middle of Newborough village to reach the lovely forest / beach-side parking. At the time of writing, I believe parking fees are £5 for the day – unless you arrive really early (when the barriers may be open).

We parked up and quickly made our way through the dunes and on to the beach at 6 something or other am, where we were greeted by this beautiful view of a deep red pre-dawn sky over Snowdonia.

Maybe the shepard’s warning but as a photographer ..

I’d already expected to have to move around promptly to achieve the different shots I was looking for but the westerly jog up the beach with getting on for 50lbs of photography backpack certainly woke my leg muscles up! But oh was it worth it 🙂

The ponies that graze Ynys Llanddwyn start the day next to St Dwynwen’s church ruins.

St Dwynwen

Wales’ patron saint of lovers. There appear to be various versions of Dwynwen’s story. She was said to be the fairest of the many daughters of King Brychan Brycheiniog. She fell in love with a young man called Maelon, who reciprocated, but unfortunately her father had plans for her to marry another.

When she is forced to spurn Maelon, some say she runs away, prays to fall out of love or that she is raped by Maelon in his frustration. Either way, Maelon ends up frozen in a block of ice and an angel grants Dwynwen three wishes:

that Maelon be released

that God should, through her experience, care for the wellbeing of lovers

and that she, Dwynwen, should never become married

After this Dwynwen founds a convent on Ynys Llanddwyn, where she lives out the rest of her life. Her church became a place of holy pilgimage during the middle ages and the ruins can still be visited today.

The views from Ynys Llanddwyn are spectacular. With both Snowdonia & Llyn Peninsula as backdrops, whilst having various points of foreground interest too. It is no wonder that various feature film scenes have been set here.

Beautiful softlight and so many choices of subject.

Having photographed Tŵr Mawr at dawn we watched as the seabirds started their day with gulls calling overhead and a pair of Oystercatchers who stood together on a tide sprayed rock observing the coming of sunrise.

And what a sunrise it was. With renewed tangerine orange in the sky, the sun burst forth above central Snowdonia; whilst (from our shared rocky viewpoint) Tŵr Bach stood almost silhouetted to one side.

The sun gradually rises into a tangerine sky above the mountains of Snowdonia. In the forground stands the beacon tower (Tŵr Bach) of Ynys Llanddwyn.

Having enjoyed spectacular dawn & sunrise, we sat and enjoyed our breakfast snacks before moving on to explore more of this beautiful & spiritual island. I always like achieving some pleasing shots early on a trip, the rest of the day becomes more relaxed and everything seems like a bonus. On Llanddwyn the surroundings almost beg you to sit back and enter a contemplative mood – what a source for inspiration.

Mountain, sea, sunshine and peace – where better for an artist’s inspiration.

As we continued to explore and then walk back to Llanddwyn Bay, we enjoyed not only the views but also the geology, the information signs, the ponies (again), the expanse of empty beach and then found a swing on the forest edge. Have a look at the gallery below for some extra pictures.

Finally we left around mid morning, time to move on and recce some other local spots for another day’s ‘golden hour’.

There’s a map beneath the gallery if you’d like to consult it. The only 2 bits of extra advice I would give is to be careful about the tides (it is a tidal island) and to respect all restrictions posted, particularly in seabird breeding season.

Gallery (click on picture to enlarge / bring up more details) :

Maybe the shepard’s warning but as a photographer ..

The ponies that graze Ynys Llanddwyn start the day next to St Dwynwen’s church ruins.

It’s not difficult to understand the spiritual call of this place.

Beautiful softlight and so many choices of subject.

The first soft light of dawn spreads its warm hues upon Ynys Llanddwyn’s old lighthouse.

The sun gradually rises into a tangerine sky above the mountains of Snowdonia. In the forground stands the beacon tower of Ynys Llanddwyn.

Mountain, sea, sunshine and peace – where better for an artist’s inspiration.

The start of a glorious day

The 1903 Celtic Cross on Ynys Llanddwyn

The view from the old church

Fascinating exposures of pillow lava on the beach

The woodland stretches right down to the beach – cause enough for a celebratory swing.

Llanddwyn Bay & Newborough Warren – nature reserve and a great place to visit